A New thing to Hate!

The other day I was walking home from work and had to dodge a particularly large tourist. He was wearing a nasty patterned shirt and tight shorts and he was trying to wave a cab down. I politely stepped around him and held my tongue when I would have preferred to swear.

And then I realized: it was not a live human tourist at all, but a Spirit Bear.
The American Tourist Spirit Bear to be exact. Complete with $1 charity rubber bracelets and flip flops!

So yeah; last year it was big painted orcas and this year it’s bears. Chicago had cows, Toronto had moose, etc. I am predisposed to not be so fond of the giant fibreglass animals, much as I dislike any large blatant displays that attract lots of attention. Oh except in Eugene, Oregon where they had giant ducks. But come on – giant ducks!

What can I say – I’m an introvert. An introvert who likes ducks.

Of the selection of bears available to view so far, I do like this one as it just looks like a statue of a bear. But why do the other ones have to be all “The Grateful Dead Has A Very Bad Day?” It says right here at the SpiritBearsInTheCity website, that the Kermode bear is WHITE. Not blue or brown or covered in your five year old’s fingerpaint.

I think they’re so fugly it hurts. But also it’s disrespectful. Look at this first paragraph from the website:

Found only in British Columbia’s northern forests, the rare “Spirit Bear” or “Kermode Bear” is widely recognized for its unique white colouring. A First Nation legend states that the Raven, their creator, made these bears white as a reminder of the time when the world was pure and clean and covered with snowdrifts and ice blue glaciers. Raven promised that these bears would live in peace and harmony forever.

Does this not seem to be at complete odds with the brightly coloured, soulless-eyed tourist attractions scattered throughout the city? Or am I just a Surly McCrankyPants?

American Tourist Spirit Bear is at the corner of Georgia and Granville if you want to avoid/behold it.